Written by: "Natalie Wright"

With the 87th Academy Awards (better known as The Oscars to most folks) having just happened, it seems fitting that the chosen topic for any blog right now would be Film. Whilst The Oscars is so huge that we kinda don’t need a better reason than this to choose film as our topic this month, the motivation behind this choice goes a little deeper than “Oh hey The Oscars are happening, we should probably write about that” for the Elevenses family and warrants a little exploration. This is why I’ll be looking at film and its importance in creating valuable shared experiences as part of my Food for Thought column.

Now, my Elevenses post wouldn’t be complete without some nod to Tolkien would it? (we do call ourselves Elevenses after all). It is with this understanding that I bring you this fun fact, relevant to both The Lord of the Rings and The Oscars:

“The most successful films in Oscar history are Ben-Hur, Titanic and Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King. Each took home 11 gongs – although Return Of The King was the only one of those to take home every award for which it was nominated.” ~ Empire Magazine

With the 87th Academy Awards (better known as The Oscars to most folks) having just happened, it seems fitting that the...

Letting butter sneak into my diet after years of low fat eating habits was like opening the floodgates and although it took me a while for both my palette and my body to catch up with the change, I gave butter an inch and I’m so happy that it took a mile instead. I’m overjoyed to report that my mornings are now filled with gluten free bagels smothered in grass fed butter, my afternoons with several cups of bulletproof coffee and my evenings with organic, grass fed butter basted steaks and I couldn’t feel better!

You know how you only realise how tired you are after sleeping a bunch? Well I only realised how limited my resources were after adding in butter to my diet. Looking back a couple of years or so, I spent most of my days tired, unmotivated and disinterested. I had a short temper with most things, unable to cope with planning or problem solving and I struggled a lot despite having very little on my plate. I like to refer to these years as my own personal “The Dark Ages”, and what was the cuisine fuelling past Nat? That’s right folks, Cheese & Onion crisps and ham sandwiches with margarine!

Going by a fundamental law of Computer Science I learned fairly young (Garbage In Garbage Out) it makes sense to me why I couldn’t get very far shovelling junk into my trap. It’s safe to say that adding in healthy doses of butter to each meal has helped me to take that needed step away from such an unhelpful cycle.

Letting butter sneak into my diet after years of low fat eating habits was like opening the floodgates and although it t...

Introduction

Now, my mother will be the first to tell you that I’ve always had a hole where my ability to budget should be and as much as I could argue that the hole has been since been plugged after years away from the family home, I’m sure that my girlfriend will be the first to rat me out within seconds of me making such a wildly inaccurate claim. My opinion? My sister stole all of the sensible genes.

The meaning of budget for me has experienced huge swings and roundabouts over the years and I’m sure that as my life progresses such wild change in meaning will continue (I’m expecting budget to be a big thing as soon as motherhood hits). Where the word once meant nothing but “Why can’t I get all three £40 Playstation 2 games?!” when spending my parents money, it now means the difference between having the option of organic meat with most meals or being forced to eat rice and chicken as every meal for a month because oops: bills.

Whilst we all know of the behemoth that is the “financial budget”, its cousin “emotional budget” should never be forgotten. As a student (yes that’s right, I’m back at the ol’ education lark) and anxiety sufferer, both budget tyrants are intertwined with my days, but what was important for me was becoming aware of how they’re intertwined with each other as a first step to getting a handle on both.

“The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.”
– Nathaniel Branden

Introduction Now, my mother will be the first to tell you that I’ve always had a hole where my ability to budget should...

Holidays, or vacations, are perhaps the first place your mind goes to when you think of the word “recharging”. The summer months are a time that most look forward to, as we speak I know at least a dozen people that are on holiday elsewhere in Canada or beyond. Having said this, everybody has a place, ritual or activity that helps them recharge, and if your childhood was anything like mine, going abroad with your family is more akin to a 9to5 job than a relaxing getaway.

With fond memories of taking the wrong exit leaving Universal Studios and ending up on a 3 hour “scenic route” as my Dad fondly put it. Or how about that one time my cousin accidentally closed the door of our rental Pontiac Sunfire (it had a spoiler too, we were too cool) on my Dad’s thumb in Florida Mall carpark? Oh and how could I forget all those years sleeping in the same hotel room as my parents? I love them dearly but no amount of love can plug my ears enough to mute their snoring! Together they made for an interesting, almost experimental, symphony in Barbados. On a more serious note, there actually have been some astounding memories made on holiday with my family, but as my Dad always put it: “You need a holiday to get over the holiday”.

Holidays, or vacations, are perhaps the first place your mind goes to when you think of the word “recharging”. The summe...

First it was 2 litres of Coca Cola or Dr Pepper every 4 days during my school days, then, when I graduated to University it became 12 cans of diet coke every 7 days – we all have our vices. Mine, and many other people’s from what I hear, came in the form of an ice cold and beautifully bubbly substance that drew me in under the guise of “fruity beverage”. Let’s be honest, Dr Pepper doesn’t taste like any fruit I’ve ever had, how about you? Nah, didn’t think so.

Remember those stories and, with the inevitable progression of technology, videos? You know the one, where some kid puts a dull penny in a glass of Coca Cola and leaves it for a few hours. We all know what comes next, a shiny coin that makes you feel incredibly guilty about what you’ve been feeding your insides for the last quarter of your life. If the drink can strip a coin, how is your stomach fairing? *shudders*

This beverage battle is staged in such a way that you think you’ve made the healthy choice through switching from Coca Cola to Diet Coke, it did a number on me that’s for sure. Trouble is, that with this switch you go from chewing up your digestive system to chewing up your brain.

First it was 2 litres of Coca Cola or Dr Pepper every 4 days during my school days, then, when I graduated to University...

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here on Elevenses, for which I apologise! I hope you’ve enjoyed the latest post from Jacqui, ‘Resistant Starch’. If you haven’t read it already I recommend you go take a look to learn about the starch that’s good for you (I know, right?!) and how we are actually more bacteria than human. To keep up to date with the family, you can also check out our Instagram page which we update daily with pictures of the food we’re making, the local produce we’re buying and more.

In terms of what I’ve been up to over the last little while, I’d have to start with my taking of the protocol of supplements and custom creams and powders that was put together by Dr. Borkin of Sabre Sciences, to help kick my anxiety and depression but that would require a separate explanatory post (this will come soon, I promise). For now I’d like to chat about the role of peppermint in my recent experimentation with ways to relieve my pesky upset stomach. On a slightly tastier note, I’ll be letting you in on my favourite kind of peppermint tea, where you can get it from and its price.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here on Elevenses, for which I apologise! I hope you’ve enjoyed the latest post from...

Welcome to the first entry of my Elevenses column, Food for Thought. In case you missed the introduction, I’m Natalie and I’m the adopted one of the family unit behind this blog. Feel free to read a little more about me over here or about my adopted family members here, here and here.

What with Christmas approaching (or the Holiday season as you North Americans like to call it) the Elevenses crew couldn’t help but choose “The Harvest” as November’s topic.

What does the Harvest mean to me?

If you’re a traditional foodist then butternut squash, pork roasts and baked apples might spell “The Harvest” right out for you, for me however, it’s not so pumpkin spiced and delicious.

Where there once was eating breakfast out on the deck and wearing your only pair of shorts one too many times, there now comes frozen tear ducts and saving yourself from falling face first into Superstore on the way to picking up the next meal. For me, “The Harvest” means a huge transition to dark mornings, dark afternoons and a tougher time getting from the former to the latter.

Welcome to the first entry of my Elevenses column, Food for Thought. In case you missed the introduction, I’m Natalie an...

“His grief he will not forget; but it will not darken his heart, it will teach him wisdom.” – J.R.R. Tolkein, Lord of The Rings: Return of the King.

Who I am in the family:

I’m the adopted one. The English one. The Blonde one. I’m the one that has the pleasure of being the official Head Taster of Elevenses.

I’m Natalie Wright, I’m 22 and on paper, I’m a Digital Media Development student come Search Engine Strategist come professional eater. Off paper I’m lucky to have been welcomed into the powerhouse that is the Cardinal family through my dating of the brainbox behind the Episteme column right here on the Elevenses website (otherwise known as Jacqui Cardinal, baby bear and Jax). To give you the long and short of our relationship, we’ve known each other for 4 years, been together for around 2 of those and we’ve been living together in YEG for 2 months.

My lifestyle, my way forward and almost all decisions I make are driven by a will to overcome my long term anxiety and depression to attain a truer life experience. It is through diet, cognitive work, medication and most recently, testing, that I have yielded the best results in progression all of which I hope to share with you.

I will be your tastebuds here at Elevenses. I also hope to explore my experience with depression and the unbreakable link between cognitive issues and nutrition.

“His grief he will not forget; but it will not darken his heart, it will teach him wisdom.” - J.R.R. Tolkein, Lord of Th...